Estonia plans cyber defence exercise for EU’s defence ministers

As a part of its presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU), Estonia, in cooperation with the European Defence Agency (EDA), will organise a strategic level table-top exercise in the field of cybersecurity in Tallinn on 7 September. Estonian Minister of Defence Jüri Luik discussed the preparation of the exercise with EDA Chief Executive Jorge Domecq on 26 July together with possible application of the exercise's conclusions.

The exercise called EU CYBRID 2017, first of its kind at EU level, is meant for defence ministers of EU member states. According to Luik, the exercise aims to emphasise the necessity of cooperation between EU and NATO, especially in times of growing security threats in cyberspace. EU CYBRID 2017 will examine strategic communication and crisis response abilities of the ministers in dealing with the aftermath of a simulated cyber-attack against EU military structures. The planned exercise will serve to enhance current initiatives and improve harmonization of common defence and security policy at EU level, as well as between member states.